U.S. patent number 6,618,272 [Application Number 09/983,165] was granted by the patent office on 2003-09-09 for electric component connecting structure.
This patent grant is currently assigned to TDK Corporation. Invention is credited to Akihiro Hashimoto, Morio Sugata, Takahiro Tsuchiya.
United States Patent |
6,618,272 |
Tsuchiya , et al. |
September 9, 2003 |
Electric component connecting structure
Abstract
An electric component connecting structure including a resin
case having a first surface and a second surface, at least one
metal bus bar fixed on the first surface of the resin case and
having at least one welding projection portion, and at least one
electric component mounted on the second surface of the resin case
and having at least one lead leg. The at least one lead leg is
welded to the at least one welding projection portion of the at
least one metal bus bar.
Inventors: |
Tsuchiya; Takahiro (Tokyo,
JP), Sugata; Morio (Tokyo, JP), Hashimoto;
Akihiro (Tokyo, JP) |
Assignee: |
TDK Corporation (Tokyo,
JP)
|
Family
ID: |
18801342 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/983,165 |
Filed: |
October 23, 2001 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 24, 2000 [JP] |
|
|
2000-323706 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
361/823; 174/260;
361/760; 361/807; 439/76.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R
9/226 (20130101); H05K 3/328 (20130101); H05K
3/202 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01R
9/22 (20060101); H05K 3/32 (20060101); H05K
3/20 (20060101); H01R 009/00 (); H01R 012/06 ();
H05K 007/02 (); H05K 001/18 () |
Field of
Search: |
;361/823,760,773,774,803,611,819,788
;174/68.2,726,716,88B,7B,99B,129B,133B,250,260,263,772
;439/76.2 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Martin; David
Assistant Examiner: Levi; Dameon E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier
& Neustadt, P.C.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electric component connecting structure comprising: a resin
case having a first surface, a second surface, and at least one
aperture; at least one metal bus bar fixed on the first surface of
said resin case and having at least one welding projection portion;
and at least one electric component mounted on the second surface
of said resin case and having at least one lead leg, the at least
one lead leg projecting through the at least one aperture and being
juxtaposed to the at least one welding projection portion, the at
least one lead leg being welded to the at least one welding
projection portion of the at least one metal bus bar on the first
surface.
2. The electric component connecting structure according to claim
1, wherein said resin case has at least one fixing section
configured to receive and hold said at least one electric
component.
3. An electric component connecting structure comprising: a resin
substrate having a first surface, a second surface, and at least
one aperture; at least one metal bus bar fixed on the first surface
of said resin substrate and having at least one welding projection;
and at least one electric component mounted on the second surface
of said resin substrate and having at least one lead leg, the at
least one lead leg projecting through the at least one aperture and
being juxtaposed to the at least one welding projection portion,
the at least one lead leg being welded to the at least one welding
projection portion of the at least one metal bus bar on the first
surface.
4. The electric component connecting structure according to claim
1, wherein said at least one welding projection has a convex
form.
5. The electric component connecting structure according to claim
3, wherein said at least one welding projection has a convex form.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electric-component connecting
structure for connecting electric components to bus bars and, more
particularly, to the structure for securely fixing and connecting
electric components to bus bars without the use of solder.
Conventionally, in order to structure an electric circuit by
arranging electric components, it has been a general practice to
use a substrate for connecting conductors to the electric
components. Naturally, solder connection has been used in
connection to the electric components.
However, in solder connection, there is a problem with solder-crack
occurrence in the temperature impact test based on the user's
specification. Meanwhile, in the recent environmental problems,
there is an emphasized problem for establishing a Pb-free structure
free of Pb use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, in order to solve such a problem, it is an object of
the present invention to provide an electric-component connecting
structure that is free from crack occurrence in the temperature
impact test, higher in reliability than solder connection and of a
Pb-free structure.
The outline of the present invention will be explained with FIG. 1.
In FIG. 1, 1 is a resin case, 2 to 5 are bus bars, 6 to 10 are
electric components, 11 is a hole, 21 is a projection and 61 is a
lead leg.
The object of the invention can be achieved by the following
structures (1) to (3).
(1) The electric component connecting structure includes: a resin
case 1; a bus bar 2 to 5 made of metal fixed on the resin case; and
a welding projection 21 formed in the bus bar 2 to 5, for
connection to a lead leg 61 of an electric component 6 to 10,
wherein electric connection is made between the electric component
6 to 10 and the bus bar 2 to 5 by welding the welding projection 21
with the lead leg 61 of the electric component.
(2) In the electric component connecting structure of the above
(1), fixing part is formed on the resin case to position or
temporarily fix the electric component.
(3) The electric component connecting structure includes: a resin
substrate; a bus bar made of metal fixed on the resin case; and a
welding projection formed in the bus bar, for connection to a lead
leg of an electric component, wherein electric connection is made
between the electric component and the bus bar by welding the
welding projection with the lead leg of the electric component.
This provides the below operation effects.
(1) By providing a bus bar 2 to 5 made of metal fixed on a resin
case 1, forming a welding projection 21 for welding to a lead leg
61 of each of a plurality of electric components 6 to 10 and
welding the welding projection 21 to the electric-component lead
leg 61, electric connection is made between the electric component
6 to 10 and the bus bar 2 to 5. Accordingly, it is possible to
provide an electric component connecting structure which is free
from crack occurrence in the connection even due to temperature
impact test, free of Pb and higher in reliability than solder
connection.
(2) Because the resin case is formed with fixing part to position
or temporarily fix the electric component, it is possible, in
advance of welding, to correctly position between the electric
component and the welding projection. Thus, welding connection can
be made with efficiency and correctness.
(3) By providing a bus bar made of metal fixed on a resin
substrate, providing a plurality of welding projections for welding
to lead legs of a plurality of electric components and welding the
welding projection with the electric-component lead leg, electric
connection is made between the electric component and the bus bar.
Accordingly, it is possible to provide an electric component
connecting structure which is free from crack occurrence in the
connection even due to temperature impact test, free of Pb and
higher in reliability than solder connection.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1A and 1B show perspective explanatory views of an electric
component connecting structure of the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows an assembly sectional view of the electric component
connecting structure of the invention;
FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective backside view of the electric
component connecting structure of the invention;
FIG. 4 shows a projection-periphery magnifying view of the electric
component connecting structure of the invention;
FIG. 5 shows a projection-periphery magnifying view, after welding,
of the electric component connecting structure of the invention;
and
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an electric component connecting
structure according to another embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
An embodiment of the resent invention will be explained with FIG. 1
to FIG. 5. FIGS. 1A and 1B are a perspective explanatory view of an
electric component connecting structure of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an assembly sectional view of the electric component
connecting structure of the invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded
perspective backside view of the electric component connecting
structure of the invention. FIG. 4 is a projection-periphery
magnifying view of the electric component connecting structure of
the invention. FIG. 5 is a projection-periphery magnifying view,
after welding, of the electric component connecting structure of
the invention.
In the figure, the same symbols show the same parts, wherein 1 is a
resin case, 2 to 5 are bus bars, 6 to 10 are electric components,
11 and 12 are holes, 13 is a partition wall, 14 is a circular
definition, 15 to 18 are rectangular definitions, 21 is a
projection, 22 and 23 are shoulders, 24 is a ball, 61 is a lead leg
of the electric component 6, 8 to 10, and 62 is a lead leg for the
electric component 7.
The resin case 1 is to fixedly arrange the bus bars 2, 3, 4
therein, and made, for example, of glass epoxy resin. In the back
surface of the resin case 1, partition walls 13, a circular
definition 14, a rectangular definition 15 and the like are formed
as shown in FIG. 3. In the circular definition 14, holes 12 greater
than that for a hole 11 for the lead leg 61 of the other electric
component 6, 8, 9 and 10, are provided for the lead leg 62 of the
electric component 7 like a line filter. An electric component 6 is
inserted in the rectangular definition 15 while an electric
component 7 is inserted in the circular definition 14. Also, an
electric component 8 is inserted in the rectangular definition 16,
an electric component 9 is inserted in the rectangular definition
17, and an electric component 10 is inserted in the rectangular
definition 18. These definitions firmly, temporarily fix the
electric components and serve to position the electric components
cooperatively with the holes 11, 12, thus allowing for efficient
welding.
The bus bar 2 is provided to connect the electronic component or
connect the electronic component to another circuit (not shown),
and made of copper plate, brass or the like, for example. The bus
bar 2 is assembled and fixed in the resin case 1 by the method of
welding, adhesion, caulking, press-fitting, screwing, insert
molding or the like. The bus bar 2 is also formed with a projection
21 for welding. The bus bars 3, 4 and 5 are similarly structured to
the bus bar 2, and assembled and fixed in the resin case 1.
The electric component 6 is a component, e.g. a capacitor, to be
electrically connected and fixed, by welding, to the bus bars 2 and
3. The electric component 7 is a component, e.g. a line filter, to
be electrically connected and fixed, by welding, to the bus bars 2,
3, 4 and 5. Also, the electric components 8, 9 and 10 are
components, e.g. capacitors, to be electrically connected and
fixed, by welding, to the bus bars 4 and 5. These electric
components 6 to 10 constitute, for example, a vehicular
converter.
Explanation will be made on the connection and assembling with the
resin case 1, the bus bars 2 to 5 and the electric components 6 to
10.
(1) As shown in FIG. 1, first the bus bars 2, 3, 4 and 5 are fixed
and arranged in the resin case 1. At this time, in the resin case
1, holes 11 and 12 are provided in the vicinity of the projections
21 formed on the bus bars 2, 3, 4 and 5. Then, the electric
component 7 is inserted in the circular definition 14 shown in FIG.
3, the electric component 6 is inserted in the rectangular
definition 15, and the electric components 8, 9 and 10 are
respectively inserted in the rectangular definitions 16, 17 and 18.
Due to this, as shown in FIG. 1B the lead legs 61 and 62 of the
electric components are juxtaposed to the projections 21 formed on
the bus bars 2, 3, 4 and 5, thus placed in a state ready to
arc-weld.
(2) In this state, arc welding is made for the projections 21 and
the lead legs 61, 62 with using an arc-welder (not shown). By this
arc welding, the projected lead legs 61 and 62 and the tip of the
projections 21 shown in FIG. 4 are fused into ball forms as shown
in FIG. 5, then the projections 21 and the lead legs 61 and 62 are
welded. Thus, the electric components are securely connected
electrically and mechanically to the bus bars.
In the meanwhile, because the projection 21 is in a convex form
having shoulders 22 and 23, the fused balls 24 are stable in
position without falling in a drop as shown as a post-welding state
of FIG. 5. Thus, such a convex form is preferred.
Meanwhile, because solder connection requires increased time due to
remaining heat, welding with an arc-welder requiring less time is
more effective.
Because the resin case is formed with definitions by partition
walls or the like and the components can be firmly inserted and
temporarily fixed therein, welding operation can be effectively
carried out.
Moreover, because the holes are formed in the vicinity of the
projections, the electric components can be correctly positioned.
Thus, welding operation can be effectively carried out.
In this manner, it is possible to provide an electric component
connecting structure which is free from crack occurrence even in
the temperature impact test and does not use Pb.
Although the foregoing explanation explained the example using a
resin case on which bus bars are provided, the invention is not
limited to this, i.e. a resin substrate 1' may be used as shown in
FIG. 6. In that case, although the positioning of electric
components 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 is only with the holes 11', 12',
positioning is correctly made which also makes welding operation
effective.
The present invention can provides the following effects.
(1) Metal-make bus bars 2 to 5 are provided fixed on a resin case
1, welding projections 21 for welding to the lead legs 61 of a
plurality of electric components 6 to 10 are formed in the bus bars
2 to 5 and the welding projections 21 are welded to the
electric-component lead legs 61 thereby electrically connecting the
electric components 6 to 10 to the bus bars 2 to 5, whereby it is
possible to provide an electric component connecting structure that
is free from crack occurrence even due to a temperature impact
test, Pb-free and higher in reliability than solder.
(2) Because fixing part for positioning or temporarily fix the
electric components is formed in the resin case, it is possible, in
advance of welding, to correctly position between the electric
components and the welding projections and carry out soldering and
connection efficiently and correctly.
(3) Metal-make bus bars are provided fixed to a resin substrate,
welding projections for welding to the lead legs of a plurality of
electric components are formed in the bus bars and welding is made
to the lead legs of electric components through the welding
projections, whereby it is possible to provide an electric
component connecting structure that is free from crack occurrence
even due to a temperature impact test, Pb-free and higher in
reliability than connection by soldering.
* * * * *